As the Pig Turns

As the Pig Turns
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2011-10-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 142997799X

As the Pig Turns is the next irresistible adventure featuring the bossy, vain, and endearing Agatha Raisin—now the star of a hit show on Acorn TV and public television—from New York Times bestselling M.C. Beaton, "the reigning queen of the cozies"(Booklist). Winter Parva is a "picturesque" (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-fashioned costumes, morris dancing, and a pig roast on the village green. Always one for a good roasting, Agatha Raisin organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. The rotary spit turning over a bed of blazing charcoals is sure to please on this foggy and blistery evening. But as the fog lifts slightly, the sharp-eyed Agatha notices something peculiar about the pig: a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it and the name Amy. "Stop!" she screams suddenly. "Pigs don't have tattoos." The "pig," in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the locals, including Agatha herself. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when the Gary's ex-wife, Amy, hires Agatha's detective agency to investigate—and another murder ensues. With that provocation, how could any sleuth as vain and competitive (and secretly insecure) as Agatha do anything other than solve the case herself?

Hiss and Hers

Hiss and Hers
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2012-09-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 125001526X

If only the bossy, beloved Agatha Raisin were as lucky at finding the right man as she is at catching killers in M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin is as feisty as ever-armed with her famous wit and biting sense of humor. This time, though, there's some biting of a whole other sort going on. Agatha has fallen head over heels in love-again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man-including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike. Rising to the occasion, Agatha rallies her little detective agency to find the killer, only to learn that George had quite a complicated love life. But murderously complicated? Well, if she can't have George, at least Agatha can have the satisfaction of confronting the other women and solving the crime. With Hiss and Hers, once again, "M. C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery" (The New York Times Book Review) in the irresistible adventures of the irrepressible Agatha.

The Perfect Paragon

The Perfect Paragon
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429901640

The Perfect Paragon continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. After being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door, determined to prove that his wife is cheating, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Trouble is, Agatha hates divorce cases--especially when the client is as pompous as Smedley--but she has a business to run and she's not about to turn away a paying customer. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife, young and pretty and a regular volunteer at church. Although Smedley's case doesn't look promising, Agatha's attentions are diverted when she stumbles across the body of missing teenager, Jessica Bradley. In a sudden gesture of kindness (and good public relations), Agatha offers to investigate Jessica's death free of charge. As Agatha juggles her two biggest cases, things are turned upside down when Robert Smedley is found poisoned in his office. The prime suspect, his sainted wife Mabel, immediately hires Agatha to find the real killer. With the help of her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, and some newly hired staff, Agatha Raisin sets off on another adventure solving crime in the English Cotswolds.

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2013-09-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466834692

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. Gloria French was a jolly widow with dyed blonde hair, a raucous laugh and rosy cheeks. When she first moved from London to the charming Cotswolds hills, she was heartily welcomed. She seemed a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church and caring for the elderly. But she had a nasty habit of borrowing things and not giving them back, just small things, a teapot here, a set of silverware there. So it's quite the shock when she is found dead, murdered by a poisoned bottle of elderberry wine. Afraid the murder will be a blight on the small town, Parish councillor, Jerry Tarrant, hires private detective Agatha Raisin to track down the murderer. But the village is secretive and the residents resent Agatha's investigation. Of course that doesn't stop the ever-persistent Agatha from investigating and sticking her nose where no one wants it—especially as the suspect list grows. And, as if it isn't enough that Agatha's ex has reentered the picture, the murderer is now targeting Agatha! With M.C. Beaton's Something Borrowed, Someone Dead the bossy, vain, and absolutely irresistible, Agatha Raisin continues to be a fan favorite.

As the Pig Turns

As the Pig Turns
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2012-07-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781250001917

The village of Winter Parva has decided to host a pig roast in the town square. Agatha, always one for a good roasting, has arrived with her former protg and current rival in the private detection racket to enjoy the merriment. But as the rotary spit is placed over a bed of fiery charcoals, Agatha realizes that things are not as they seem. Martin's Press.

There Goes the Bride

There Goes the Bride
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2010-08-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312373221

Wedding bells are ringing, but not for Agatha Raisin in this irresistible new adventure by "New York Times"-bestselling author Beaton. Martin's Press.

Pushing Up Daisies

Pushing Up Daisies
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2016-09-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250057442

When a wealthy land developer who had been planning to turn a community garden into a housing estate winds up dead, Agatha Raisin is hired by the victim's accused son to clear him of suspicion and identify the real killer among numerous suspects.

The Blood of an Englishman

The Blood of an Englishman
Author: M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2014-09-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466857730

The Blood of an Englishman continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. "Fee, fie, fo, fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman..." Even though Agatha Raisin loathes amateur dramatics, her friend Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife, has persuaded her to support the local pantomime. Stifling a yawn at the production of "Babes in the Woods," Agatha watches the baker playing an ogre strut and threaten on the stage, until a trapdoor opens and the Ogre disappears in an impressive puff of smoke. Only he doesn't re-appear at final curtain. Surely this isn't the way the scene was rehearsed? When it turns out the popular baker has been murdered, Agatha puts her team of private detectives on the case. They soon discover more feuds and temperamental behavior in amateur theatrics than in a professional stage show—and face more and more danger as the team gets too close to the killer. The Blood of an Englishman is Agatha's 25th adventure, and you'd think she would have learned by now not to keep making the same mistakes. Alas, no—yet Agatha's flaws only make her more endearing. In this sparkling new entry in M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling series of modern cozies, Agatha Raisin once again "manages to infuriate, amuse, and solicit our deepest sympathies as we watch her blunder her way boldly through another murder mystery" (Bookreporter.com).

Me First

Me First
Author: Helen Lester
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2013
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0544003217

Pinkerton the pig always manages to be first until he rushes for a sandwich and it turns out not to be the edible kind.

When Pigasso Met Mootisse

When Pigasso Met Mootisse
Author: Nina Laden
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1452143978

When Pigasso met Mootisse, what begins as a neighborly overture escalates into a mess. Before you can say paint-by-numbers, the two artists become fierce rivals, calling each other names and ultimately building a fence between them. But when the two painters paint opposite sides of the fence that divides them, they unknowingly create a modern art masterpiece, and learn it is their friendship that is the true work of art. Nina Laden's wacky illustrations complement this funny story that non only introduces children to two of the world's most extraordinary modern artists, but teaches a very important lesson—how to creatively resolve a conflict—in a most unusual way.